Good- Bama was determined to run it today... maybe a tad stubborn on some 1st down runs, but I get it. They've got to get that part of the offense going. Still some struggles, and some of that is in part to Roberts having to play injured... but they still need to find some ways other than zone read stuff to make some hay there. The zone read is great, but it also exposes Milroe to a few more hits than I care to see. Overall, the run stats were still kinda blah... but they've got to get it going and maybe (hopefully) today was a step in that direction.
The decision on the first drive of the game to go for it on 4th and 1 was big (bad spot by the way, which seems to happen a lot with Bama). They tried to set the tone early, and obviously the 7 points it led to were nice. Not long after, it felt like Bama was on the cusp of going up 21-0 and starting to really run away with it, but then they got stuck in the mud and we saw flashbacks of the Vandy game in several areas.
Tim Smith had a good day.
Domani Jackson battling back from his 1st half injury and getting back in there for the 2nd half. He's played much better this season than I was expecting... one of the (few) bright spots on defense.
The defense has more issues than Britney Spears, but when they had to at the end (after the onside recovery), at a time when it seemed like they might be frustrated and worn out, they stood up and squashed it. I'm probably being overly optimistic here, but maybe, maybe, that will be a spark that ignites something in them going into the Tennessee game.
Along those lines, you can't just pressure, pressure, pressure every team, every play, every week... but when Bama brings it, it sure seems like things trend in a much more positive direction. And I swear there's a different energy on defense when they do it... that's concerning on one hand if I'm right, but also... hell, lean into at this point.
Bad- Bama got gifted a roughing the punter call, but 2 weeks in a row now Bama has been screwed on a roughing the passer call where a hand brushes the helmet of a QB. It's either roughing or it isn't. It isn't like holding or pass interference (and buddy, they missed some holds too).... it isn't hard to figure out.
The defense is still missing way too many tackles. On the rare occasions they are in the right spot for a big stop, all too often, they don't get the guy down.
The defense might as well bring a white flag when it comes to defending the edge.
OL/Pass protection overall had too many breakdowns today which led to Milroe losing his mojo, which led to hesitation, which led to mistakes. Gotta clean that up.
Ugly- That timeout by DeBoer before the half, that helped Carolina get a breather and draw up a play for the score on 4th and 9... damn. I'm not sure what his thinking was there... Did he assume they were just gonna punt? Because I never got that feeling.
Bernard really needed to go down on that late TD... everyone wants their stats, but giving them the ball back with still a 1 score game and 1:54 left was not smart. At all. He goes down inside the five, they are out of timeouts, it's ball game. Again, that's more on coaching than on Bernard, but all should know better. That can't happen. Returning the game sealing INT was also dumb, too much can go wrong there... but at least he slid at the end. Players these days have football video game IQ's... they do stuff they'd do on the Xbox, but shouldn't do in real life.
LB play was terrible today. Easily fooled. Slow. Just really bad. They've become a liability which opposing OC's are now exploiting.
How many fumbles have we had to kick off returns this season? 3? 4? I can't even remember at this point, but it's an insane number based on the amount of returns.
A note- This team feels like it's just sinking at this point. DeBoer is finding out what the SEC is now. He's finding out what Alabama is too. Can he make the necessary adjustments to the former? Can he withstand the pressure of the latter? Just doing 1 of the 2 is too tough an ask for most. DeBoer doesn't seem like "most", but the answers will reveal themselves in due time.
Bama should be about a Pick 'em going into Knoxville, which on the surface seems silly. But, it also says a lot about the weapons this team has, especially on offense. And the potential. DeBoer has always been at his best in the "big" games. Can the team take on the same persona again like they did against UGA? If so, I like the Tide's chances, a lot. If they play like the past 2 1/2 games, it's going to be a tough night.
Roll Tide.